Micha Powell has had a busy summer. Between navigating injuries for the past 12 months, writing a book, and doing everything she could to have a good race at Olympic Trials, it’s been a lot. While she didn’t make the Olympic team for the 400m or 4x400m relay this year, the 29-year-old New Balance athlete remains undeterred and is confident she’ll be back. But she has changed how she looks at goals, at running, and at navigating the setbacks that are part of every pro’s career.
Last May, we first talked to Powell about what Run Your Way means to her. Then, she explained that “Run your way, to me means having this realistic positivity. I’m always able to look at things from this perspective that I have this opportunity to run. This is amazing. This is something that not many people get to do at this level. And I get to see what my body can do. Even if it’s a race that doesn’t go that well, I’m like, Yeah, but I walked in there and did what I could.”
It’s still true—and she’s re-learned that no amount of positive feelings can guarantee a win, or that you’ll avoid injury.
Her book launch came at a good time. As she was mourning the loss of this year’s Olympic dream (more on that in a moment), her book had just come out, so she was able to shift focus to that goal while recovering from the other. “This book tour has honestly been really motivating for me,” she says. “I’ve gotten to meet so many incredible women, and they’re asking such great questions. I feel like I’m really touching people. I even know other athletes who didn’t make their Olympic teams who are reading it and using it to move through those feelings.”
She used it to move through her own feelings about missing Paris, and to renew her commitment to running. While some racers who didn’t make the Paris Olympic team skipped watching the coverage, finding it too difficult emotionally, Powell tuned in. “I admit, I was a little salty at the beginning watching it, but at the end of the day, of course I wanted Canada to do well,” she says. “And I also wanted to watch the 400-metre and the 400-metre relay so I could see what it would take to make the team in 2028, what the other girls are doing, how the race is won, all that stuff that you need to know to start thinking ahead.”
“Now, I know that I need to run 51 flat or better in the 400 just to make it to the semi-finals,” she adds. “That helped me set some new goals, and to start thinking about focusing on running really high-quality races at big meets versus running more often.
Canadian 400m Olympian shares advice and tips from her new book
“I think the key for continuing your career is that you have to have the fire,” she adds. “It shouldn’t be torture; it shouldn’t feel like you’re constantly questioning what you’re doing.”
So now, what does Run Your Way mean to her?
“10-year-old Micha looked at running as just pure energy, wanting to get to that finish line no matter what,” Powell says. “Ten years ago, when I first started running professionally, I wanted to be competitive, but I also wanted to be recognized. Now, I look back on that, and I can see that what really made me shine was that I had that competitive fire, but I also was smiling at the end because I loved it so much. Today, Run Your Way means enjoying the moment, appreciating the people who’ve helped me get to this point, and remembering that there’s still so much more to come. I still have the same love of running, the same competitive spirit, but now I know that running my way means enjoying the journey and not just the finish line.”
